Former prime minister Kevin Rudd quits federal politics with emotional speech to Parliament - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Former prime minister Kevin Rudd quits federal politics with emotional speech to Parliament Updated November 14, 2013 15:19:52 Map: Australia Former prime minister Kevin Rudd announced his retirement from politics in an emotional speech to Parliament on Wednesday night, adding "it really is time for me to zip". Mr Rudd, who has served as the Member for Griffith since 1998, says he will leave Parliament at the end of this week. "This has been the product of much soul-searching for us as a family over the last few months," he said, fighting back tears.

Kevin Rudd Elected as MP for Griffith in 1998 Elected opposition leader in December, 2006 Elected prime minister in December, 2007 Ousted by Julia Gillard in June 2010 Foreign minister from September 2010 to February 2012 Sworn in as PM again on June 27, 2013 Defeated in federal election on September 7, 2013 Announces his retirement from Parliament on November 13, 2013 "The decision that I have made has not been taken lightly. "But for me, my family is everything, always has been, always will be, which is why I will not be continuing as a member of this Parliament beyond this week." Mr Rudd, who served in the top job between 2007 and 2010, and then again this year, went on to wish Tony Abbott luck, saying the office of Prime Minister was the "hardest job in the land". "I wish Tony, his wife Margie and their family all the best for the rigours of high office that inevitably lie ahead," he said.

On his side of politics he singled out Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, as well as key supporters Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen. Divisive figure: Rudd's political career Analysis: Labor, Liberal, friend or foe, Kevin Rudd had an almost unique ability to polarise opinions "Having served as Leader of the Opposition myself, this is never a position for the faint-hearted. There are always long dark nights of the soul but believe it or not, morning does come, often sooner than you think," he said. "Bill brings great strength to the position. I have every confidence he will lead Labor's return to the Treasury benches. "I wish to thank Albo as his extraordinary service as deputy prime minister and leader of the house. Albo is the most formidable parliamentarian in this place, as is recognised on both sides of the chamber." When speaking of his future Mr Rudd said he was planning to establish a "national apology foundation", highlighting his apology to Indigenous Australians, which he said was a signature achievement of his time as prime minister. He also spoke of his desire to remain active in the international community. My family is everything, always has been, always will be, which is why I will not be continuing as a member of this Parliament beyond this week.

Kevin Rudd "I am passionately Australian and passionately a citizen of the world. I intend to be active in the international community in areas where I can make a genuine contribution to peace and stability, global economic governance and sustainable development, including climate change," he said. And despite the emotion of the situation, Mr Rudd ended the speech with his signature sign-off. "On this final occasion in the Parliament, and as is now officially recorded in the classics for occasions such as this, it really is time for me to zip," he said. External Link: Kevin Rudd: A political life Rudd a 'big figure' in Australian public life: Abbott Mr Abbott paid tribute Mr Rudd, saying his retirement is a significant event in the history of the Parliament. "To lose someone who has been one of the big figures in this Parliament and one of the big figures in the life, the public life of our country over the best part of two decades," he said.

External Link: Rudd's service 'very significant': Abbott "As a political opponent, but as someone who has known the Member for Griffith quite well for a long time, I salute him and I wish him and his family all the best for the future, and I express my confidence that one way or another he will continue to serve our country." Mr Abbott also paid tribute to Mr Rudd's apology to Indigenous Australians, calling it "something to crown an amazing public life". "Much as I admire and appreciate and put on a huge pedestal his immediate predecessor (John Howard), in this respect at least, he had lacked the imagination to grasp that opportunity and the member for Griffith, Kevin, he had the decency to see that here was something that needed to be done," he said. "He did it with courage, with decency, compassion and that alone is an extraordinary achievement." As a political opponent, but as someone who has known the Member for Griffith quite well for a long time, I salute him and I wish him and his family all the best for the future. Tony Abbott Tributes flowed from both sides of Parliament, with former opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull saying Mr Rudd was toughest person he had ever encountered in politics.

"The member for Griffith was kind enough to refer to me as his friend and I am touched by that, Kevin, I really am. After you lost.. initially I was very worried about you because I'd known how low I had sunk in a much less difficult loss of leadership," he said, "[But] as I got to know you I realised what an extraordinarily tough individual you are. Your determination is unequalled by anyone I've worked with in politics. I don't know anyone that is just so filled with energy, and determination, and a preparedness to overcome any setback, and that is a triumph of the human spirit." Shorten speaks of Rudd's enduring popularity Treasurer Joe Hockey also took the opportunity to wish his old Sunrise sparring partner well, saying Mr Rudd's granddaughter "could be well satisfied that her life is better for his contribution to our nation". Mr Shorten pointed to Mr Rudd's stewardship of the Australian economy as a key achievement of the former prime minister, and spoke of his enduring popularity with the Australian people. Audio: Kevin Rudd resigns from federal politics (PM) "I do not believe that we will see his like again in the Australian Parliament," he said.

"Even his harshest critics, of which there are some, would say that he does have a special relationship with the Australian people," But he also referenced the bitter feud that cost both Mr Rudd and former prime minister Julia Gillard their positions. "This is a tumultuous era in Labor and, with the Member for Griffith's resignation tonight, part of it comes to a close," he said. "He has been the leader of the Labor Party in difficult circumstances for the Labor Party. We emerged after a significant election loss with a party that is more united, stronger, and more cohesive than it would have been if that reform was not put in place under Kevin Rudd's leadership. Anthony Albanese "He has been part of tumultuous debates within our party in the last number of years, But I do think that most fair-minded people will recognise that when he returned to the task of PM in those weeks before the last election... his contribution helped mean that the quality of Australian democracy was improved." Mr Rudd's former deputy Anthony Albanese, however, paid tribute to the decision to return to leadership. "He could have retired having led Labor to victory in 2007....

no-one could have questioned what the outcomes might have been in 2010, and retired as an undefeated prime minister from the Australian electorate," he said. "[But] he chose to put the party that he loves first before his own interests and the interests of his family and I thank him for that, because Labor is competitive." And he said Mr Rudd's reform of the Labor leadership process had revitalised and democratised the party. "We emerged after a significant election loss with a party that is more united, stronger, and more cohesive than it would have been if that reform was not put in place under Kevin Rudd's leadership," he said. Ms Gillard also tweeted, wishing Mr Rudd well for the future: Best wishes to Kevin, Therese & their family as they embark on the next stage of their lives. JG — Julia Gillard (@JuliaGillard) November 13, 2013 Ms Gillard and Mr Rudd were embroiled in a bitter fight for the leadership of the Labor party after Mr Rudd lost his prime ministership to Ms Gillard in 2010, only to win back party support shortly before the 2013 federal election.

Mr Rudd has asked for privacy for his family in the coming days. Julia Gillard ousted as Australia prime minister | World news | The Guardian Julia Gillard Julia Gillard ousted as Australia prime minister Julia Gillard confirms she will not contest next parliamentary elections after losing Labor party leadership ballot to Kevin Rudd Wednesday 26 June 2013 09.33 EDT First published on Wednesday 26 June 2013 09.33 EDT Close This article is 3 years old Australia's first female prime minister, Julia Gillard , has been sacked by her party just months before the next election and replaced by the man she ousted three years ago. After an unprecedented day of political bloodletting in Canberra, Kevin Rudd beat Gillard in a ballot of MPs by a margin of 57 to 45 to become Labor party leader. It is only the second time a sitting Australian prime minister has been removed from their first term in office by their party; Rudd was the first. Delivering his victory speech, Rudd dedicated himself to winning the election in September. "In 2007 the Australian people elected me to be their prime minister.

That is a task that I resume today with humility, with honour and with an important sense of energy and purpose." He also paid tribute to Julia Gillard. "She is a woman of extraordinary intelligence, great strength, great energy. All of you across the nation would recognise those formidable attributes," he said. "Julia has achieved much under the difficult circumstances of minority government, helped by a dedicated set of ministers." "She has been a remarkable reformer and I acknowledge those contributions this evening," he said. Rudd said he had taken on the challenge of the leadership because he could not "stand idly by and allow a (conservative) Abbott government come to power in this country by default". Bill Shorten announces he is backing Kevin Rudd. Photograph: Mike Bowers Gillard laid down the challenge to Rudd when she called on Wednesday for a do-or-die ballot, on the condition that the loser retire from parliament to end the debilitating Labor leadership war. Shortly after the vote Gillard confirmed she would not contest the next election. A cabinet reshuffle is expected and a number of former Gillard ministers have already tendered their resignations. In her concession speech, Gillard congratulated Rudd and called on the party to fight to win the September election.

She acknowledged that her tenure as prime minister had been difficult, saying: "In the years in which I've served as prime minister, predominantly I've faced a minority government and political division in my own party. It has not been an easy parliament to operate in." Gillard also reflected on her role as the country's first female prime minister. "The reaction to being the first female PM does not explain everything about my prime ministership, nor does it explain nothing about my prime ministership," she said. "I've been a little bit bemused by those colleagues in the newspapers who have admitted that I have suffered more pressure as a result of my gender than other PMs in the past but then concluded it had zero effect on my political position or the political position of the Labor party." With tears in her eyes, she talked about what her term as prime minister might mean for other female leaders: "What I am absolutely confident of is it will be easier for the next woman, and the woman after that, and the woman after that, and I'm proud of that." After her press conference, she went to tender her resignation to the head of state and the Queen's representative in Australia, the governor general. Kevin Rudd confirms his leadership challenge.

Photograph: AAP Conservative opposition leader, Tony Abbott, whose party is well ahead in the polls, criticised the revolving door of Labor leadership, saying Australians deserved better. "In 2007 you voted for Kevin and got Julia," he said. "In 2010 you voted for Julia and got Kevin. If you vote for the Labor party in 2013 who knows who you will end up with." He called on Rudd to hold to an election immediately, rather than wait until September. "It's now for the Australian people to determine who the prime minister is," Abbott said. The day of high drama began when supporters of Rudd, who had advocated his return to the leadership for the past three years of the hung parliament, began circulating a petition to try to force a contest in this, the last sitting week of parliament before the September election. Within hours, Gillard went on the attack and made the decision to hold a snap vote on her position. "It is in the best interest of the nation and the Labor party for this to be resolved," she said. "This is it.

There are no more opportunities, tonight's the night." Wednesday's change of leader follows months of speculation, during which Gillard made clear she would not stand down despite opinion polls that repeatedly showed Rudd to be the more popular leader. With the party's support dwindling to about 30%, and the prospect of Labor losing at least half of its parliamentary seats, she stood firm while Rudd's backers plotted. Once Gillard called the leadership ballot – the third time she had agreed to contest her position in as many years – Rudd made his pitch to return, saying Labor was heading for a catastrophic defeat if nothing was done. It was a U-turn from his position two months earlier when he declared there was no circumstance under which he would return to the party's leadership. Rudd said he had changed his mind because of "tens and thousands of ordinary Australians, who have been asking me to do this for a very long time. This has now become urgent. I therefore believe with all my heart that I owe it to offer the people of Australia a viable alternative." The ballot looked very close until 15 minutes before the vote, when one of Gillard's key backers, Bill Shorten, who had helped her to the top job, changed sides.

"The future of this nation and the Labor party is at stake, therefore I shall be supporting Kevin Rudd tonight," he said. It is unclear what will happen now. The governor general may swear Rudd in as prime minister or could ask him to test his numbers on the floor of the house of parliament with a no-confidence motion on Thursday, the last sitting day before the election on 14 September. It is not certain he would win this vote, as independent MPs who have kept Gillard's minority government in power have not guaranteed their continued support. New Labor leader takes up office of Australian prime minister for second time, appearing to have confidence of hung parliament Published: 26 Jun 2013 Kevin Rudd to be sworn in as prime minister, all the fallout from Labor's leadership change Published: 26 Jun 2013 Leadership ballot – which Rudd won 57 to 45 – must now be confirmed by hung parliament for Rudd to be sworn in as PM Published: 26 Jun 2013 David Marr: The perpetually underrated product of a humiliating childhood, he rose to power with few friends.

He never made many more Published: 26 Jun 2013 Katharine Murphy, deputy political editor Published: 26 Jun 2013 Van Badham and Karen Pickering Published: 26 Jun 2013 Australian elections 2013: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd faces a tough battle as campaign begins Australian elections 2013: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd faces a tough battle as campaign begins World | Agence France-Presse | Updated: August 05, 2013 08:39 IST EMAIL PRINT COMMENTS Sydney: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Monday launched the first day of Australia's election campaign faced with a poll showing his personal support has slumped and the Murdoch press urging voters to "kick this mob out". Rudd on Sunday named September 7 as the day Australians will go to the polls, hoping to complete a stunning political comeback with victory for his Labor Party three years after it ousted him.

But he faces an uphill battle after what newspapers said was years of a "toxic political climate" that saw Julia Gillard topple Rudd as Labor leader in 2010 before he defeated her to retake the job in June in hopes of saving the party from an election wipeout. Since then Rudd has re-energised Labor but in the first poll since the election was announced the Tony Abbott-led conservative coalition continues to lead on a two-party basis - 52 to 48 per cent, unchanged from two weeks ago. More worryingly for Rudd, the Newspoll in The Australian newspaper of 1,147 voters showed there has been a jump of six percentage points in the number of people dissatisfied with his performance during the past fortnight. And while he remains the preferred prime minister by a long margin over Abbott, the poll showed he has lost some ground. Labor is also battling the might of the Murdoch press, with the Australian-born media baron's tabloid Sydney Daily Telegraph devoting its entire front page to a picture of Rudd and an editorial under the headline: "Finally, you now have the chance to ...

Kick This Mob Out." The mass-market newspaper supported him at the 2007 election that he won but now says it is time to "consign Rudd to the bin of history", calling for "an end to two terms of political chaos and economic decline". "We agree with the prime minister when he says that 'the old politics of the past won't work for Australia's future'," said the newspaper, with Rupert Murdoch last week jetting in his trusted lieutenant, New York Post editor Australian Col Allan, to lead the campaign. "The problem is, those old politics belong to Kevin Rudd and to history's rubbish bin." Murdoch's broadsheet The Australian acknowledged Rudd had given Labor new life, but said: "Labor cannot distance itself from its record over the past six years." It added that Australia had endured "a toxic political climate and a period of repeated government failure on core issues". Rudd, whose campaign is set to focus on the economy and a decision to send asylum-seekers to Papua New Guinea and Nauru, began his pitch to voters in Canberra Monday and said he was not surprised at Murdoch's stance. "He wants to see the government removed and he wants to see Mr Abbott as prime minister," he told ABC radio.

Kevin Rudd | prime minister of Australia | Britannica.com prime minister of Australia Alternative Title: Kevin Michael Rudd Kevin Rudd Kevin Rudd, in full Kevin Michael Rudd (born September 21, 1957, Nambour, Queensland, Australia ), Australian politician, who served as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP; 2006–10; 2013) and prime minister of Australia (2007–10; 2013). Kevin Rudd, 2007. Anoek De Groot—AFP/Getty Images Rudd grew up on a farm in Eumundi, Queensland. Politically active from his youth, he joined the ALP in 1972. He attended the Australian National University in Canberra , where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Asian studies before embarking on a diplomatic career. From 1981 to 1988 he served in Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, holding embassy posts in Stockholm and Beijing. He left the department to become chief of staff for Queensland opposition leader Wayne Goss—a position he retained after Goss became premier of Queensland in 1989.

Rudd served as director general of the state cabinet office from 1992 to 1995. Entering the private sector, he worked for two years as a senior consultant for the accounting firm KPMG Australia. Rudd was first elected to the federal House of Representatives—as the member for Griffith, Queensland—in 1998 and was twice reelected (2001 and 2004). In Parliament he held a series of positions that gave him increasing responsibility within the Labor Party. After the 2001 election, in which Prime Minister John Winston Howard ’s coalition secured a strong working majority, Rudd was appointed shadow minister for foreign affairs. Frequently appearing in televised interviews and on political talk shows, Rudd became known as a vocal critic of the Howard government’s handling of the Iraq War . He was given the additional shadow ministry portfolios of international security in 2003 and trade in 2005. At the ALP caucus held on December 4, 2006, he was chosen party leader, defeating former head Kim Beazley by a vote of 49–39. Kevin Rudd and his wife, Thérèse Rein.

Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images In 2007 Rudd increased his calls for Howard to set a date for the next federal elections and urged the prime minister to meet him in face-to-face debates. Rudd—who was riding a wave of popular support at the same time that Howard’s voter-satisfaction ratings were dropping—promised to bring a new leadership style to Australian politics. He called for a clear-cut exit strategy for Australian forces in Iraq , and he criticized Howard for recent rises in interest rates. In addition, Rudd stressed the importance of improving health services. To that end, he announced a comprehensive public health reform plan that he vowed to set in motion early in his administration if he was elected prime minister. In the November 2007 elections, the ALP easily defeated Howard and the Liberal Party . Rudd was sworn in as prime minister on December 3, 2007. Following through on a campaign promise, he formally apologized to the Australian Aborigines in February 2008 for abuses they had suffered under earlier administrations. Britannica Stories Ringling Bros.

Folds Its Tent Rudd made climate change a centrepiece of his administration, calling it the “greatest moral challenge of our generation” and pushing for adoption of a carbon emissions trading scheme. He negotiated a deal with Malcolm Turnbull of the opposition Liberal Party of Australia to secure passage of the bill in the Senate. However, Turnbull faced dissent within his own party that led to his ouster and replacement by Tony Abbott , an opponent of the emissions trading scheme, and the bill was defeated in the Senate in December 2009. Because of this and other policy setbacks, Rudd’s popularity declined, prompting an internal challenge by Julia Gillard , his deputy prime minister, in June 2010. Sensing his imminent defeat, Rudd chose not to contest the leadership vote, and Gillard was subsequently elected ALP leader and succeeded him as prime minister. Later that year Rudd became foreign minister, but he resigned in late February 2012 amid speculation that he was planning to challenge Gillard for leadership of the party. Within days Gillard called for a poll among the members of Parliament who belonged to the government coalition, and the vote resulted in a decisive defeat for Rudd.

Kevin Rudd - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up) (born 1957). Australian politician Kevin Rudd aspired to the position of prime minister in 2007, promising to bring "a new leadership style, with fresh ideas, fresh vision, and fresh energy" to Australian politics. Riding a wave of popular support, he was elected easily and served until 2010. He was leader of the Australian Labor party (ALP) from 2006 to 2010. In 2013, after years of fighting within the ALP, Rudd successfully challenged Prime Minister Julia Gillard for party leadership and was once again sworn in as prime minister. However, suffering defeat in the September 2013 election, he resigned his post as prime minister to leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, Tony Abbott.

Article Contributors Australian prime minister Rudd ousted in political coup - World Socialist Web Site World Socialist Web Site Published by the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) Australian prime minister Rudd ousted in political coup By Nick Beams 24 June 2010 In a series of extraordinary events over the past 24 hours, the Australian Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd has been ousted as prime minister through a campaign orchestrated by multi-national mining companies, the Murdoch media and other corporate and financial interests and implemented through a series of backroom manoeuvres by right-wing factional warlords and trade union bureaucrats. Deputy prime minister Julia Gillard was elected unopposed as Labor Party leader at a special meeting of the party’s parliamentary caucus this morning after Rudd was pressured not to re-contest the leadership position. The political coup began several weeks ago when right-wing factional leaders began organising support for a leadership challenge. On June 15 former Australian Workers Union national secretary Bill Shorten, now a Victorian MP, urged Julia Gillard to challenge the leadership. Gillard insisted that she did not want to stand—a position she maintained at Tuesday’s caucus meeting, from which Rudd emerged confident of remaining Labor leader.

Key right-wing faction leaders, however, initiated a series of manoeuvres behind the backs of the caucus and the party to effect a leadership challenge. By Wednesday evening, the coup against Rudd was in full swing. Australian Workers Union national secretary, Paul Howes, issued a statement that the union no longer supported Rudd, while faction leaders informed the media that support for the prime minister had collapsed. Confronted with a fait accompli, Gillard told Rudd she would challenge. Late on Wednesday night, Rudd issued a defiant statement that he had been elected by the Australian people, not by factional bosses and indicated he would fight. But the following morning, he reversed his position and Gillard was installed unopposed. The circumstances of Rudd’s removal are a graphic exposure of the thoroughly worm-eaten character of both the Labor Party and the entire system of so-called parliamentary democracy in Australia. The Labor Party long ago ceased to be a mass political party in any meaningful sense of the word, but the depth and breadth of the gulf between it and the lives and concerns of the mass of ordinary people have never been so clearly demonstrated.

The leadership challenge was not decided by a move from the caucus but by a tiny handful of unknown factional bosses and union bureaucrats responding directly to the demands of powerful corporate and financial elites for a revamping of the government. Not only did backbench MPs have no idea of the events on Wednesday evening, Cabinet members were in the dark as well. As one minister told the ABC: “I am sitting in my office watching all this unfold on TV. I have no part in this and no idea what’s going on. This is madness.” Much has been made of the collapse in opinion poll support for Labor as the underlying reason for Rudd’s demise. But the opinion polls reflect more the impact of the media on popular consciousness than any genuine social or political movement. When key sections of the media and the corporate interests they represent backed Rudd, his opinion poll ratings reached record highs. Once he lost their confidence and their support was withdrawn, his opinion poll rating, and that of the Labor Party, fell accordingly. The ousting of Rudd—the only time a Labor prime minister has been removed during his first term—was not carried out as a result of a movement of the working class, but by key sections of the financial and corporate elites.

Rudd’s slide began in early December when his proposed Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) collapsed. A deal to secure its passage through parliament blew up after Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull was deposed by Tony Abbott following an anti-ETS campaign backed by the same large mining companies and corporate interests that pushed for Rudd’s removal. The government’s scheme, which had been aimed at positioning Australian financial interests to take advantage of carbon credits trading, became a virtual dead letter with the debacle at the Copenhagen climate change summit at the end of last year. Throughout 2009, the central plank of the government’s program was a fiscal stimulus package, supported by the financial and corporate elite, to deal with the global financial crisis. But by the beginning of 2010 financial markets began exerting growing pressure globally for stimulus packages to be reined in and for the cost of the bailouts to be extracted through drastic reductions in government spending. These demands found political expression in Australia through a campaign launched by the Murdoch press against Rudd’s spending measures.

The lack of safety controls and regulations in the roll-out of the government’s home insulation scheme, which led to four deaths and a number of house fires, requiring thousands of inspections, were used to attack the government’s efficiency and “big spending”. This campaign was extended to Rudd’s so-called building education revolution, involving criticisms of the rorts involved in the construction of some school halls and library buildings. At the same time, articles began to appear extolling the virtues of Julia Gillard. Opinion pieces by right-wing commentators praised her political skills and her ability to defeat teacher opposition to school league tables contained in the government’s so-called MySchool program, and her introduction of Fair Work Australia, which continued and strengthened the anti-working class industrial relations program of the former Howard Liberal government. In response to the growing demand, both internationally and within Australia, for deficit reduction, the government made two key decisions in its May budget that were to play a decisive role in creating the political conditions for Rudd’s removal. In mid-April, Rudd, acting under pressure from Gillard among others, decided to shelve the ETS in order to remove provisions for compensation to major corporations from the budget and so assist in returning it to surplus faster than previously planned.

The same considerations lay behind the introduction of the resource super profits tax on major mining corporations, with revenue from the tax to be used to reduce the overall corporate tax rate from 30 to 28 percent and to boost infrastructure spending in mining regions. The shelving of the ETS saw a major shift away from the Labor Party and toward the Greens from supporters of action on climate change—characterised by Rudd as “the greatest moral and ethical issue of our time”. At the same time, disillusionment was growing with the social policies of the Rudd government, including attacks on refugees and its deepening of the reactionary Northern Territory intervention against Aboriginal communities. The mining tax proposal was met with a furious multi-million dollar campaign by the mining companies. Appealing to fears that the tax could jeopardise mining investments and profits, resulting in job losses and increasing economic instability, the campaign gained political traction, particularly in resource-based regions in Western Australia and Queensland, leading to a collapse in support for the government. The anti-tax campaign was supported by other financial and corporate interests on the basis that the government should reduce the deficit through cuts in government spending, not by raising taxes.

Significantly, at the first press conference following her election Gillard declared that the doors of the government were now open to the mining companies for negotiation, and that she was ordering the withdrawal of the multi-million dollar government-funded pro-tax advertising campaign. Refusing to set any “parameters” on negotiations, she asked only that the mining companies “open their minds.” Gillard also issued an immediate reassurance to Washington that under her leadership the Labor government would continue to support the war in Afghanistan. Amid calls from right-wing factions in the Labor Party for harsher measures against asylum seekers, she insisted that she would ensure “strong management of borders.” Asked why she had sought the leadership, after weeks of denials, Gillard said that the government had “lost its way”. This was a pledge to the powerful corporate and financial interests behind the ousting of Rudd that the Labor government, under her leadership, would realign itself even more directly with their demands. Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister in exile Print Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister in exile Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has quit political life in Australia to take up a position as inaugural head of the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York. But observers say it's the post of UN Secretary General that really interests him.

By James Massola. reddit More Kevin Rudd has just given me the middle finger. It's 30 degrees in Brisbane, our interview is over and Rudd is perched awkwardly on a stool in the front room of his daughter Jessica and son-in-law Albert's suburban home. Jacket on or off? Don't shoot me sideways. What to do with his hands? Photographer Nic Walker needles Rudd and tells a story about provoking the head of a major government financial institution into giving him the one-finger salute.Rudd demurs, but as soon as Walker puts down the camera, out comes the finger and a wicked laugh. Consumer watchdogs issue warnings about air loungers Play Video Rudd's eight years since he was 'Kevin-07' Rudd's eight years since he was 'Kevin-07' A lot has happened to Kevin Rudd since he became prime minister (for the first time). We take a look back at the jokes in Mandarin, tears, and explicit language caught on camera. Up Next Consumer watchdogs issue warnings about air loungers Play Video Consumer watchdogs issue warnings about air loungers Safety concerns are mounting about using inflatable loungers in water after reports of near drownings.

Up Next Rod Culleton in scuffle outside Perth court Play Video Rod Culleton in scuffle outside Perth ... Rod Culleton in scuffle outside Perth court The former One Nation and now Independent senator took himself to hospital after a scuffle outside a Perth court when another man tried to hand him bankruptcy documents. Courtesy ABC News 24. Up Next Lego smash and grabs Lego smash and grabs Inside the world of Lego there is a sprawling black market, with back-of-a-truck dodgy dealings fuelled by a desire to get expensive sets at bargain prices. Up Next Caltex wage fraud: the system is broken Play Video Caltex wage fraud: the system is broken Caltex wage fraud: the system is broken First it was 7-Eleven. Now, petrol station chain Caltex is under the spotlight for rampant wage fraud throughout its franchise network, as Fairfax's Adele Ferguson explains. Up Next Boxing Day shoppers at it again Play Video Boxing Day shoppers at it again Boxing Day shoppers at it again According to the Australian Retailers Association, shoppers are expected to drop $2.5 billion dollars on Boxing Day alone. Vision courtesy ABC News 24. Up Next Fourth Melbourne terror suspect to face court Play Video Fourth Melbourne terror suspect to face ...

Fourth Melbourne terror suspect to face court Seven people were arrested and four charged on Friday over an alleged terrorist plot in Melbourne. Police feared a multi-person, multi-weapon strike that would include random stabbings, bombings and possible suicide attacks. Vision: Channel Seven. Up Next Melbourne Christmas day terror plot foiled Play Video Melbourne Christmas day terror plot foiled Melbourne Christmas day terror plot foiled Police have foiled a potential "multi-modal" Christmas day attack potentially using explosives, guns and knives in Federation Square and St. Paul's Cathedral on Christmas Day. Vision courtesy ABC News 24. More videos Rudd's eight years since he was 'Kevin-07' A lot has happened to Kevin Rudd since he became prime minister (for the first time). We take a look back at the jokes in Mandarin, tears, and explicit language caught on camera. Post-politics, has Kevin Rudd learned to relax and let go? Not quite. Before agreeing to speak to Fairfax Media - one of just a handful of interviews granted since he left the federal parliament - months of negotiations were required.

Those negotiations culminated in the off-the-record, pre-interview dinner in a Boston restauant in December 2014, a short walk from Harvard, where Rudd was about to conclude a year-long research project. The dinner was, as a friend of Rudd put it, the "why should I trust you when I've been f---ed over before?" pre-interview. Two months later, an on-the-record interview was confirmed. In the 18 or so months since Labor lost office, the early signs are Kevin Rudd has lost the internal Rudd-Gillard history wars. SHARE Pin to Pinterest Link Once politics turned into a "cesspit", former prime minister Kevin Rudd had no option but to get out. Photo: Nicolas Walker At the memorial service for Labor legend Gough Whitlam, Rudd received a polite smattering of applause; Gillard received a raucous reception from the true believers. And while Gillard's popularity as Australia's first female prime minister grows, with a biography published and a series of speaking engagements, former prime minister Rudd has quit Australia. Advertisement The family home in Brisbane is sold, Abby the dog lives with Jessica and Albert, and Rudd has moved to the United States.

Until late January, he was based in Boston at Harvard University, while wife Therese Rein was based in London. After selling her business Ingeus for $222 million to Arizona's Providence Service Corporation, the pair have been reunited in New York. Rudd's absence from Australia has been pronounced and deliberate, according to friend Frank Brennan, the Jesuit priest and legal scholar who has also been living in Boston. Politics in Australia had become a "cesspit", Brennan says, and "there was no way he could thrive as an individual…there was no option but to get out". He identifies a lecture at Harvard's Fairbank Centre for Chinese Studies on October 16, 2014, as the turning point in Rudd reinventing himself. The campaign to replace Moon, mostly undeclared, has begun and Rudd – the master of the undeclared campaign – is one of many jostling for position. Beforehand "my reading is that he was wondering how he would go at such a high-powered institution. At a dinner after at the Harvard Club, with some of the leading international China scholars, he more than held his own," Brennan says.

"A spark of the old Kevin came back." "He has been very disciplined, friends like myself have been counselling him, no matter how you are taunted by people in Australia, say nothing," he says. "That has helped with the healing, and with reorienting himself to realise he can have a second major career." Paula Dobriansky, a senior fellow at Harvard's Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs and a friend of Rudd, says the former prime minister came to the university with the reputation as someone who had had a distinguished diplomatic and political career. "By coming to Harvard he was able to not only reflect on it and share it with undergrads and grad students, who benefited, but at same time his tenure also afforded him ability to reflect on developments in Asia, with a particular focus on China, and its ramifications for the United States-China relationship," she says. Brennan says that, in the months after moving to Boston, the pair also found time to discuss their faith (Rudd was raised a Catholic but converted to Anglicanism when he married Rein)."He, like a lot of us, has delighted in Pope Francis, he reads everything Francis says.

There have been times if Therese is in town they go to an Episcopalian church. But occasionally, when she has not been in town, we go off to the Catholic church," Brennan confesses. *** Back in Brisbane, Rudd has spent the morning painting with his first granddaughter, Josephine, and shows me the results. Of course, they have already been shared with his millions of Twitter followers. "After I left the Parliament the Harvard Kennedy School guys asked me to go and do this project, which is best entitled "alternative futures for US-China relations", he says. "Namely, absent policy change either in Beijing or Washington which way is it likely to go at present, and, secondly, what are alternative credible futures which may be better equipped to preserve the peace for the long term?" Rudd says he has been back to Australia "several times, but not a lot. Therese and I have been travelling back and forth between London while I've been in Boston. The Boston flight is manageable and it's direct, but being together in New York will be more convenient at that level".

"All the kids are either off working or at university, the need to be back in the country is much less and besides, if you've just left political life, it's far better to just exit the scene and not be some source of rolling gratuitous commentary." Rudd has "nothing to say" about Tony Abbott or Bill Shorten but can't resist talking about one of his pet topics, Labor party reform. "While I am no longer prime minister, no longer foreign minister, no longer a member of Parliament, I am still a member of the Australian Labor party," he says. He wants all senate preselections to be conducted by statewide ballots and reduced union representation in the party, "commensurate with the unionisation of the work force". Such a move would amount to a cut to union representation from around 50 per cent of delegates to around 20 per cent – and trigger World War III within the party. *** In New York, Rudd is the inaugural head of the Asia Society Policy Institute.

"It does not seek to emulate Brookings, or CIS or others by producing a ream of new publications – although we will publish some – in the tradition of think-do tanks we see ourselves as think and do rather than think and write." The institute is also handily located up the road from United Nations HQ. And the post of UN secretary-general, which will be vacated on December 31, 2016, by incumbent Ban Ki-Moon, that observers say is what really interests Rudd. The campaign to replace Ban, mostly undeclared, has begun and Rudd – the master of the undeclared campaign – is one of many jostling for position. UN convention dictates the job is due to be rotated to Eastern Europe but this time around, tensions between Russia and the United States and Western Europe mean that a candidate acceptable to one could be vetoed by the other. If that happens, a candidate from the Western Europe and Other grouping – such as Rudd or New Zealand's Helen Clark – or someone from the South American group such as Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff​ or Chile's President Michelle Bachelet - could emerge as a compromise.

Clark, who is already ensconced in the UN bureaucracy as the head of the United Nations Development Program, has the support of current New Zealand Prime Minister John Key. Fairfax Media has been told Rudd will first need to demonstrate to the Australian government that he has the support of all members of the P5 Security Council – the US, China, Russia, France and Great Britain – before support is forthcoming. Dobriansky, like other friends of Rudd's in Washington, says she is not aware of the former Australian Prime Minister's interest in the job but adds "the UN could well use his strong global leadership and ability to forge consensus". And former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr goes further, declaring Rudd is "proving already a more plausible candidate than his critics in Australia are prepared to believe". "I attended a conference outside Abu Dhabi hosted by the UAE, he presented an overview of China, many of the themes would be familiar to Australians, but for Europeans and those from the Middle East, it would have been a useful distillation. He also clearly had a rapport with many of the people heading UN agencies and global NGOs. " Brennan confirms he has spoken to Rudd about his interest in the post.

"But as a mate I say to him, if it came to our part of the world, there is him and Helen Clark. But guess what, she is a woman [the UN has never been led by a woman], she is competently running a UN operation, the UN Development Program, and she wouldn't attract the same static from her own audience," he says. "If the world looked to our part of the world, I sure he would have an interest, but I think he would run a very good second." Journalist and author Nicholas Stuart, who has written two critical books on Rudd, says he doesn't think China would be willing to accept Rudd because he brings "the baggage of the past". Nevertheless, Stuart says "knowing the person that he is, I find it inconceivable to think that he would not desire to put his hat in the ring". A spokeswoman for Rudd's old Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirms that he has indeed visited all of the P5 in the last 18 months and had had assistance with those visits. Rudd is emphatic he is not a candidate because of the UN's rotation system. "I'm sure across Eastern Europe there are those of more neutral persuasion.

Who knows, we are 18 months away from that. But the bottom line is that the overwhelming consensus in the United Nations system is that it's a rotation to eastern Europe. Therefore it is not applicable to yours truly. That's kind of the end of it," he says. "I'm just being utterly pragmatic about it, that's just the bottom line. " *** Rudd's post-parliamentary CV is already bulging with appointments and fellowships to universities and working groups in the US, Britain and China. "For me, you go on to the next phase of your public policy career. I'm not into the retiring business. I'm neither retiring, nor into the retiring business. They will take me out in a box." So does Kevin Rudd, tall poppy, miss Australia? "I'm not commenting on Australia, but what I'm saying is that in the United States, if you have an idea, a concrete idea which is capable of working whether it's in business or public policy the value of the idea commands its own respect," he says. "It is an encouraging and positive environment. I'm not saying that doesn't exist in this country but America is a vast country." Advertisement

Question: To which political party does Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd belong?
Answer: THE LABOUR PARTY